Summer With the Marauders
by SimplyComplex
Summary: It's the summer after the Marauder's fifth year. Everyone is at James house, along with the Marauders other friends, Lily, Emily, Cas, and Raven. Lots of fun and laughter, the usuall. Really, it's better than I make it sound, i'm just not very good with s
1. Midnight Pranks

A/N: This is my first *actual* story, so I'm a little nervous. Usually I write something, and when I read it I start to revise it, and I keep rewriting it until it sucks and I can't read it anyway. This is a Marauder story, and takes place summer after their fifth year. It includes three original characters, please don't let that scare you away. I hope you enjoy this, please review.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot, Emily, Raven and Cas. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. ______________________________________________________________-  
  
" Stop giggling, you'll wake them up!"  
  
"Sorry Sirius"  
  
It was around three a.m. Sirius and his twin sister Emily were playing another prank on their friends. They and all their friends, except Peter, who was grounded, were at James' house. The rest of the group was Lily, Raven and Cas. Raven was tall and thin, with a slightly pale face and straight black hair down to her waist. She had stormy blue eyes and loved to laugh. She was going out with Sirius. Cas was much shorter than Raven. She had chestnut brown hair and gray eyes, with a slightly rounder face. She was Remus' girlfriend. Towards the end of their fifth year, Lily and James had finally made up, and were now going out. All of them loved playing pranks, and Lily, Cas, Raven and Emily were quickly becoming known as The Lady Marauders. All of them were also Animagus, including Remus. James' parents loved having all his friends over, even with all the pranks, having always wanted a large family.  
  
" Lily is going to kill us!"  
  
" Like she hasn't already tried. James will stop her. Are you done yet?"  
  
"Almost."  
  
" When you are come help me over here"  
  
Sirius had gotten the idea from a muggle movie Lily had shown them called The Parent Trap. Lily was always showing them muggle things. Sirius had been fascinated by the television and had watched every single movie Lily had all in a row.  
  
For the most part, they had covered everyone with either maple syrup, shaving cream, or both, and given them a new hairstyle. Raven looked especially silly, because with the use of some glue and styling gel they had spiked her hair straight up, along with Lily and Cas' hair. Remus and James had been covered in shaving cream molded to look like mermaids and the girls drenched in syrup. There was more syrup covering the floor, so that when they tried to get up they would slide into the middle of the room. Both Sirius and Emily had already fallen while doing this. If everything worked out right, someone would wake up and yell, waking up the others. They would all get up and slide into the middle of the room, where Sirius and Emily had rigged buckets of water balloons to tip over.  
  
"When Lily tries to kill you, just tell her it's her own fault for letting you watch those movies. I'd love to see the look on her face."  
  
" This is going to be great! Do you still have that camera you got for your birthday?"  
  
" Yeah. Pictures will just endanger your life even more, you know. There. I'm all done."  
  
" Me too. I'm gonna go wash all this stuff of me now. Don't wake them up!"  
  
The next morning Lily screaming death threats at Sirius woke everyone up. Remus and James started laughing at the girls, until Rave so kindly pointed out that they now had fish tails and breasts. Meanwhile, Sirius and Emily were busy laughing and taking pictures. Lily noticed the cameras, and she, Raven and Cas tried to get up and take them away, only to slide all over the floor, and land on top of each other. The boys got up to help them, only to land on top of the pile and set off the buckets of water balloons. Raven and Cas took one look at each other and burst into laughter, while James and Remus had to physically restrain Lily for fear of Sirius' life.  
  
"What are you two laughing at? You look just as bad!" Lily shouted.  
  
" Hey, lighten up. It was only a prank, and a great one at that. Good job Sirius." Raven said.  
  
" And Emily" Sirius corrected. "Anyway Lily, it's your fault. The whole thing came from one of your muggle movies" this only caused Lily to struggle more.  
  
" Why you little."  
  
" Do you have a death wish Sirius? Because if you don't get out of here soon, we won't be able to hold Lily back much longer."  
  
" I'm leaving. Come on Em, I can tell when we're not wanted." Sirius said with a fake sob.  
  
" I'm going to take a shower. Have fun calming Lily down." Raven announced  
  
Remus had let go of Lily once Sirius left. Soon she stopped trying to get free. She looked at the remaining people in the room, and couldn't help but smile.  
  
" I guess it was a pretty good prank." Lily admitted. " I'm still getting revenge." She added at James' hopeful look. " I hope we didn't wake up your parents."  
  
" They're way on the other side of the house, and they know by now to put silencing charms around their room."  
  
James and his friends stuck mainly to one half the house. There was James' room, the room they were in now, two large bathrooms, a sitting room, and a game room. The game room had expanding charms on the inside, and contained a whole Quidditch pitch. You could usually find them there playing Quidditch, or relaxing in the pool or hot tub. There were also a few muggle things, like a stereo system and a television that Remus and Lily had fixed to run by magic.  
  
Remus left to take a shower, and when Raven came back Cas and Lily raced for the bathroom. Cas won. When she and Remus came back, Lily went to the bathroom, James called a couple of house elves to clean up the mess, and left to take his own shower. Sirius and Emily came back, and they along with Raven, Remus and Cas went to go sit and talk in the living room.  
  
"That was a brilliant prank Sirius" Cas complimented.  
  
" I can't believe you two managed all that without waking anybody up." Remus added.  
  
" Can't wait to see what Lily does to get you back."  
  
"Maybe she'll turn him into a poodle again. That was hilarious."  
  
"For you it was. Not for me. Anyway, we almost did wake you up, because we kept slipping in the syrup and shaving cream. We both had to take a shower before going back to bed."  
  
" Anyone up for a game of Quidditch when Lily and James get back?" Emily asked  
  
James and Lily came back soon, and they all agreed to a game. They played three on three, with Raven, Emily and Sirius against Remus, Cas and James. Lily was referee, and James' team won. ________________________________________________________- A/N: So? If you liked it, please review and tell me if I should continue or not. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, but it all depends on the feedback I get, so press that little square button down there and make me happy. 


	2. A Taste of Your Own Medicine

A/N: Here is my next chapter, The Girls Get Revenge. It's a little short, but I ran out of inspiration. Enjoy, and Review! _________________________________________________________-  
  
"I know what to do!" Lily exclaimed  
  
" What?" Cas and Raven asked.  
  
"Hair dye." Was her simple reply.  
  
"Hair dye?" the girls asked  
  
"Colored hair dye in his shampoo."  
  
The girls were in one of the rooms near their dorm type room. They were planning their revenge on Sirius for the events of yesterday morning.  
  
"What color though?" Cas asked.  
  
"Hot pink. It'll be hilarious! I know a one week temporary dye potion, that's really easy and fast to make."  
  
"What about underage magic?" Lily asked.  
  
"Potions are almost undetectable, and they'll probably just think it was James' parents if they did detect it. So how about it?"  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"Remember when I kept changing my hair color last year? Red and purple and blue and silver and gold, and just about every other color? I used this potion. I think I might actually have some leftover that hasn't got a color yet. To make it hot pink, you have to add one beetle's eye."  
  
"Why did you keep changing your hair color anyway?"  
  
"I was bored."  
  
"She tends to do drastic things when she is bored, usually to her appearance. Like her eyebrow ring she got Easter vacation." Emily, who knew Raven much better, said, walking into the room. "Planning revenge on my brother? I think the boys are too, but with me included. You planning to get me too?"  
  
"Maybe, unless you help us with this. We don't know what shampoo is Sirius'. Do you?"  
  
"Yeah. It's some muggle brand. He changes brands every couple of months. The stuff he has now is in a green bottle."  
  
Meanwhile in another room, Sirius, James and Remus were planning a prank on Peter, who was coming in three days, his grounding almost over. So far they knew they were going to ambush him when he stepped out of the fireplace after flooing to James house.  
  
"What about water balloons?" Remus suggested.  
  
"Good idea. We'll all be waiting with water balloons, and as soon as we see him, we attack." James concluded.  
  
"How about right now we grab some water guns and buckets of water and ambush the girls? There probably all in the other living room." Sirius said.  
  
The girls had just finished working out the minor details when the door to the room flew open and the boys rushed in. they dumped water all over them, then ran outside to their stash of water guns. James gave a war cry while Sirius and Remus howled before opening fire on the girls who had followed them outside. Raven and Emily went straight to Sirius and pushed him into the pool. Just before he fell, he grabbed their wrists and pulled them down with him. Lily grabbed the water guns he dropped, and Cas grabbed the hose. Remus picked up Cas and threw her into the pool. Lily came up behind Remus and pushed him into the pool, just before James picked her up and threw her in also.  
  
"I am victorious!" he shouted. Everyone grabbed at his legs and pulled him into the pool with them and they all had a good laugh at the look on his face when he fell.  
  
That night the girls quietly snuck out of their room to the Potter's potions lab. Raven brewed the potion quickly, and they all headed to the boy's bathroom. Emily gave them Sirius' Shampoo and conditioner, and Lily and Cas quickly added the potion, and they quietly walked back to their beds.  
  
The next morning there was a shout from the direction of the bathroom where Sirius had just finished his shower. Moments later he rushed into the room. James and Remus immediately burst into hysterical laughter at the sight of Sirius with pink hair. Raven snapped a couple photos of him.  
  
"What did you do?!"  
  
"You deserved it!" the girls said in unison, before bursting into laughter also.  
  
"Don't worry, it's only temporary, goes away in a week." Raven said once they all calmed down.  
  
"It better!" Sirius said menacingly. ______________________________________________________-  
  
A/N: Next chapter- the boys revenge and possibly the afore mentioned prank on ratboy. If you have any ideas for pranks, or the boys revenge on Sirius and Emily, please leave it in a review. If I use your idea, I'll dedicate the chapter to you. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, I would mention your names but I can't go online to find them yet, I can only type this. So Review! Remember, Reviews make authors happy, and happy authors update quicker. So please review, it's not hard! 


	3. Public Embarassment

A/N: My third chapter. It's not all that great, the revenge on Sirius, but no one gave me ideas, except auburnbeagle, who in a roundabout way gave me the idea for this prank. Thank you to all my reviewers.  
  
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"What are we doing today?" a very bored Cas asked.  
  
"We could go shopping." Immediately all the girls agreed.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere!" Sirius, who had been pouting in a corner about his hair, said.  
  
"What if we made the girls give you an antidote?" Remus asked him. "We need to buy some stuff for that prank on Wormtail."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Fine Padfoot, we'll all just go without you." James teased.  
  
"No! I'll take the potion."  
  
"Good dog." Raven said. While she went down to the Potters potion lab, everyone else changed into their favorite Muggle clothes, which happened to be the shirts Raven had designed for them. Raven loved anything to do with art, and had taken it upon herself to design shirts for all the Marauders. Each one had a picture or outline of their animagus form on a colored background Raven chose. James' was blue, with wispy white lines in the form of a stag. Lily's was also blue, but a more pastel shade, with a vibrant orange tiger. Remus had a gray shirt with the outline of a wolf sitting on a cliff howling at the moon. Cas also had a wolf on hers, but it was a beautiful gray/brown wolf on a white shirt. Sirius had a dark red shirt with a grim, which had glowing blue eyes. Emily also had a grim, but on a green shirt, with green eyes, While Raven had a black shirt with a Black Panther outlined in red, with red eyes. Peter, though he wasn't there yet, had a brown shirt with a gray rat on it.  
  
"Here Sirius" Raven said returning into the room, "Drink this."  
  
"Drink? The other one had to be put on my hair." Sirius stated, confused.  
  
"Because we altered it to work on contact. Just drink it."  
  
"It better not be another prank. You sure it'll work?"  
  
"Do you want to do this the hard way Sirius?" Raven asked, referring to the time she had to force an antidote down his throat by sitting on him and pouring it into his mouth while she plugged his nose.  
  
"No!" he said quickly, grabbing the vial of potion. Everyone watched as his hair slowly changed black, starting at the roots and slowly making its way down to the ends of his hair. Once he was happy, they were on their way to catch a muggle bus. Sirius, who bored very easily, began singing quietly.  
  
"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round." Emily, who was also bored, heard and joined in. "the wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town." They ended the verse louder than they had started, causing Raven to hear and join in also. They sang a couple verses more, until just for the sake of making people annoyed, Cas and James joined in.  
  
"The baby on the bus goes wah wah wah, wah wah wah, wah wah wah. The baby on the bus goes wah wah wah all through the town!" they sang, quite loud. An old man sitting a few seats down yelled at them to shut up, only provoking Remus and Lily to join in as a prank, and for them to invent a new verse.  
  
"The old man on the bus yells shut the hell up, shut the hell up, shut the hell up. The old man on the bus yells shut the hell up all through the town." They continued on singing until the driver finally got mad and threw them off in front of the store they wanted to go to, which Raven pointed out to him.  
  
"How many verses was that?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" Lily asked.  
  
"Trying to break our third year record. Remember that, Prongsy old pal?"  
  
"Yeah, except it was detention with McGonagall, and she gave us another weeks detention."  
  
"I know how many it was!" Cas said "I was bored, so I counted." She added at the weird look Lily gave her. "It was sixty-eight!"  
  
"Yes! We beat it by 13!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Lets go inside already, it's hot out here!" Emily said. When they got inside, the boys headed straight for the food court, while the girls headed for the clothing section. It was a department type store, with the bottom floor a large clothing store, with the other levels wrapping around like balconies, so you could look down on the people on the ground floor. After having his fill, Sirius went down to find his girlfriend, but ended up lost in the ladies lingerie section.  
  
"Hey James, Do you have those masks from last Halloween? I know you were planning to scare all the little kids." Remus, who had been watching Sirius get lost, said.  
  
"You mean the ones we charmed to look real? Yeah, why?"  
  
"What if we go scare Sirius instead? With luck he'll knock over everything and cause a big scene.  
  
"Why would he care?" James asked.  
  
"Because right now he's lost in ladies lingerie."  
  
"Excellent." While James and Remus headed over to where Sirius was, His sister had found him, and was leading him out. But before they got out, Remus and James jumped out at them. Emily shrieked at the life-like masks, and both she and Sirius ran. Sirius, however, was slowed down when he ran straight into a display of thongs. He tried to get up, but seconds later Emily ran by and tripped over him. Remus and James came up laughing, and helped them up. The noise had attracted a few people, along with a security guard. Cas, Raven and Lily had come over, and immediately began laughing at the thong stuck in Sirius' hair.  
  
"Uh-oh, a security guard's coming this way!" Raven pointed out. They quickly left, and spent the rest of their afternoon terrorizing other random stores. They bought water balloons for their prank on Peter, and Sirius bought a bunch of pudding and jello mix, but for what, he wouldn't say.  
  
They found a different bus to take home, singing another forty verses of 'the wheels on the bus' before being thrown off a few stops away from there destination. They didn't care, though, and spent the evening filling up water balloons, except for an hour where Sirius locked himself into a room. When asked what he was doing, he said it was a surprise. _________________________________________________________-  
  
A/N: another chapter done! Expect at least one more before the end of the week, as I'm on February vacation right now and have entirely too much spare time. I live in Maine, and instead of a two week spring break, we get one week off in February, for the winter sports, and one week off in April, for the spring side of things, just so your not confused. Please Review!! 


	4. Pudding and Jello

A/N: Yet another chapter. Peter, the dirty rat, finally shows up in this chapter, and there are a few (unfortunately) harmless pranks on him. I'm going to try to make this as much like the Marauders of J.K.R.'s mind as I can. So, hope you like it, and please review.  
  
Disclaimer: Raven, Cas, Emily and all errors are mine, the rest is J.K. Rowling's. ___________________________________________________________-  
  
"Is everyone ready?" James asked. Everyone was awaiting the arrival of peter, and heavily armed with water balloons.  
  
"I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Emily said.  
  
"This should be fun." Cas stated. James looked around the room at his friends. Sirius, Emily and Raven were behind the Sofa, each with a bucket of balloons next to them, as everyone had. Remus and Cas had taken up a position behind the two armchairs to the left of the sofa, and James and Lily were hiding behind the loveseat on the other side.  
  
Last night, while they were filling up the balloons, Sirius had disappeared, only to join them this morning and hand out his own 'special' balloons. He had taken the jello and pudding he bought yesterday and filled as many balloons as possible. He came to the room they were waiting in, and handed each person five jello and five pudding balloons, keeping five each for himself. 9lets just say he had lots of jello and lots of spare time.)  
  
"Are you alright Moony?" James asked, noticing Remus was looking a little pale and sickly.  
  
"The full moons tomorrow." Of course! How could he forget?  
  
"Don't worry, we're all here to keep you company, even if we can't sneak out with my parents here." He assured Remus.  
  
"Thanks, but you don't have to."  
  
"But we want to, Moony." Sirius told him  
  
"These pudding balloons are brilliant Sirius." Raven said. Everyone went quiet as Peter finally fell out of the fireplace.  
  
"Hello? Is anyone here?"  
  
"Attack!" Sirius shouted. Immediately everyone popped up from behind their various pieces of furniture, and countless balloons were flying his way. Balloon after balloon hit him, and the look on his face was priceless, especially when a chocolate pudding bomb got him in the face. He was too stunned to react at first, and soon the force of several water and pudding balloons hitting him at one time forced him against the wall. Only once one got him between the legs did he finally slide down the wall he had been supporting himself against. Soon the balloons stopped flying, and they all went to stand around a pudding-covered Peter.  
  
"We all missed you, so we decided to put together a lovely welcoming committee for you." Sirius said cheerily.  
  
"Great. I need a shower." Peter mumbled, heading in the direction of the bathroom. House elves appeared to carry his trunk into the other room, and to clean up the mess just as everyone began leaving the room.  
  
" Is there anything young master Potter or his friends require?" one squeaked.  
  
" Not right now, thanks." James answered. He always treated his house elves kindly, unlike some other wizarding families.  
  
When Peter returned, clean, everyone was lying around on various beds and on the floor in the dorm room (as it shall now be called, unless anyone gives me a better name). Sirius was bored and was asking nonstop 'which is worse' questions to everyone and no one.  
  
"James, which is worse, sports and no girls, or girls and no sports?"  
  
"Yes James, which is worse?" Lily asked menacingly.  
  
"Umm..." he started, not wanting to anger Lily.  
  
"Which is worse, being lost in the woods and wiping with Poison Ivy, or being at a nude beach and sun burning you butt?" he continued, ignoring everyone.  
  
"Eww Sirius."  
  
" Finding out your girlfriend is your cousin or finding out your parents are cousins?"  
  
"That's kinda wrong." James said.  
  
"Being allergic to junk food or being allergic to the opposite sex?"  
  
"Enough already!" Remus, who was getting a headache, said.  
  
"Your dad being a cult leader or your mom being a prostitute?"  
  
"Sirius, you are making Remus mad. I do not like Remus mad, especially the day before the full moon. Please do us all a favor and shut up!"  
  
"Life in azkaban without parole, or the kiss?"  
  
"Enough already!" Raven said, jumping on to Sirius who was sprawled across his bed with his head hanging off the end, and pinning him down. "Just stop already!"  
  
"Okay! Uh...air please?" he said. Raven quickly got off him. A few moments passed in silence, then...  
  
"Walking into a spider web or walking into a pole?" Immediately everyone threw their pillows at him, sparking an all out pillow war that ended with everyone sprawled on the floor covered in feathers.  
  
Soon Sirius was bored again, and instead of annoying everyone again and sparking another fight, he transformed into Padfoot and began to chase his tail. Everyone laughed, until he finally caught it in his teeth, and gave a yelp of pain. They just laughed even harder at this. He Growled at Emily, who happened to be in front of him. She turned into a grim also and they began a mock-fight, Racing all around the room, leaping over furniture and people. Finally they tired, and changed back to humans, bowed, and promptly collapsed onto the floor.  
  
"Have someone else entertain you." Sirius said. Raven and Lily rose to the challenge, changing into a black panther and a tiger, respectively. They also began a fight, though with much more style and grace then the two grims before them, both being of the feline family. They also raced around the room, sizing each other up. Lily took a swipe at Raven, who avoided it by leaping over both Remus and Cas. Soon Lily tired also, and transformed back. Raven, however, stalked toward Peter, who transformed, hoping to escape as a rat. Instead, her Feline instincts took over, and she pounced on the rat. She toyed around with him for a moment, before letting him go, and they both changed back with a pop. Peter glared at her, but she just laughed.  
  
"How did you expect to escape as a rat, Peter? I'm a cat, Duh! Natural instinct." She said to his continued glares.  
  
"Break it up you two, we should probably get ready for dinner. Don't worry, my parents haven't invited anyone over, and they won't until after the full moon." He added at the look he got from everyone, and Remus especially.  
  
The Potters, like all pureblood families, always had formal family suppers, often with guests-other purebloods. The children were expected to wear dress robes and be on their best behavior, which Sirius and Emily had been working very hard at, wanting to make a good impression.  
  
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A/N: not much happened, but I was bored and decided to write. The whole part with the 'which is worse' questions is actually an almost exact copy of a conversation me and a few friends had a few days ago. I would love if someone could help me with nicknames for the girls. I repeat: PLEASE HELP ME THINK OF NICKNAMES FOR THE GIRLS! Otherwise they'll end up with really stupid nicknames. Just to refresh your memory Lily's animagus form is a tiger, Raven's a black panther, Emily is a grim and Cas is a wolf. Please, if you have any suggestions, even for only one of them, leave it in a review please. And as always, ideas for pranks are greatly appreciated, and if I use your idea, I will dedicate a chapter to you. Also, whoever gives me good names for the girls will get a chapter dedicated to them, cuz it's the best thing I can think of that I can give you. So please, REVIEW and tell me all your lovely ideas! Thank you!  
Simply*Complex 


	5. Kareoke Night

A/N: Hello, no I'm not dead, I got arrested, spent the night in a holding cell crammed in with seven friends and my sister, then got grounded. So life basically sucks right now. If anyone has ideas about nicknames for the girls (Like Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?) I'd really appreciate it if you leave them in a review; I'll dedicate the next few chapters to whoever's ideas I use. Oh, and I'm trying to get a plot going, but my 'plot bunnies' aren't cooperating. In fact, they're intent on ripping my limbs off. Anyone who finds The Simpsons references in here will get the next chapter dedicated to them (there's two). I love The Simpsons. Please Review. -  
  
The second day after the full moon, everyone was once again woken up long before they wanted to be, by a restless Sirius and a muggle airhorn. Bad idea. Instantly there were several objects flying at his head, mainly pillows along with a few heavier objects, like books from a pissed off Lily and recovering Remus.  
  
"Ouch." He muttered as he sank to the floor, the two books having hit their mark.  
  
"Sorry Sirius, still a little touchy." Remus said, helping him up.  
  
"No use trying to sleep again after that." Raven said, sitting up.  
  
"I think I just had a mild heart attack." Cas said quietly.  
  
"Hey look, Peter's still asleep." James said.  
  
"I can fix that." Sirius said, jumping up and blowing the airhorn right in his face. He snorted, rolled over, and continued sleeping.  
  
"Sirius Black, if you set that off one more time I will not be held responsible for my following actions." Lily threatened. "Give it here. Now." Sirius slunk over to her, sulking and trying his best at a cute puppy face.  
  
"Give it to me." Lily said. Cas swore his ears drooped, probably his doggie side.  
  
"I know what to do." Raven said. "Always works on my cousin." She dashed out of the room and returned with a large bucket, the contents of which she dumped onto Peter. He sat straight up and shouted something that sounded like "Ahh! Cobras!"  
  
"Hey! What did I do?" Peter asked.  
  
"Slept through Sirius. Lily was getting jealous. Why should you sleep when we can't?" James said, sounding more than half asleep.  
  
"So, any ideas of something to do today?" Emily asked.  
  
"My parents are having a dinner party, and said we could go into London as long as we stay away from Knockturn Alley." James answered.  
  
"The Leaky Cauldron is having a kareoke night." Emily suggested.  
  
"No! Not the kareoke!" Peter shouted, diving under his blankets.  
  
"What's his problem?" Raven asked.  
  
"I think he had a bad childhood experience. He did the same thing last summer." Remus said.  
  
"He can't sing either. Sounds more like mermaids above water than anything remotely like singing." Sirius added.  
  
"Like you can sing." Raven muttered.  
  
"I can to! Just because you've never heard me doesn't mean I can't!" Sirius pouted.  
  
"Quit whining. So we'll go to kareoke night?" Remus asked. Everyone agreed.  
  
"Excellent." Sirius said, steepling his fingers together and drawing the word out as long as possible. Everyone stared at him, and he looked a little sheepish. Then the girls began rummaging through their trunks and talking about what to wear. The boys decided to leave, retreating to the safety of the pool. They returned to the room after a few hours, and they decided when to leave and what to do. They decided to leave at six, spend a few hours at the Leaky Cauldron, then head to a muggle club.  
  
Half an hour after six, and an hour after having barricaded the boys out of the room, they emerged. Raven was wearing fishnet tights and black army boots. She had on a black pleated skirt with a frayed edge and a studded black belt. Her shirt was a black baby tee with a red rose on the front, and ripped off hem and cuffs. She had a spiked necklace on and a studded leather bracelet on each wrist. She was wearing dark red lipstick and smoky eyeshadow, her hair pulled back into a regular ponytail falling past her waist, lightly dusted with silver glitter.  
  
Emily had gone for a similar look, wearing a red spaghetti strap shirt with a fishnet shirt over it. She was also wearing a black skirt and converse sneakers, with red and black striped knee high toe socks. She had red eyeshadow and black lipstick, and had her hair in a half bun with red glitter in it. She also had a few necklaces on and a bunch of jelly bracelets in black, silver, and red.  
  
Cas had a slightly different look, wearing a blood red t-shirt with black Celtic knots around the hem, collar, and sleeves, and a larger one on the chest. She had shorts that fell almost to her knees, and comfortable sandals. She wore silver eyeshadow and red lipstick, and bracelets that matched Emily's. Her sandy colored hair was in a loose bun.  
  
Lily had a black, gray, and white camouflage skirt and black three-inch heels. She was wearing a deep blue tank top with black designs all over. Her make up was lavender eyeshadow and pink lipstick, and she had only one necklace, a small chain with a lily charm.  
  
The boys were slightly less dressed up. Sirius wore a black t-shirt and shorts. He had a wide leather band around his neck and had pulled his hair back. Remus was wearing a red shirt and slightly baggy jeans, while James had a black and red striped shirt and shorts, and Peter wore a brown shirt with pants. They decided to hire a cab, but could only afford one. Peter sat in the front while in the back Remus, James, and Sirius sat with their girlfriends on their laps, Emily sitting partially on Sirius and partially on James.  
  
"I'm bored. I know! How many dogs does it take to change a lightbulb?" Sirius asked.  
  
"No more stupid jokes." Lily said. Sirius didn't listen.  
  
"Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb? Rottweiler: Make me. Lab: Oh, me, me!!!! Pleeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark...Irish Wolfhound: Can somebody else do it? I've got this hangover...German Shepherd: I'm not trained to change bulbs, just to guard the house. So don't try anything!"  
  
"You've told us that one before." Remus said.  
  
"Oh...Which is worse-" Sirius began  
  
"No!" Raven shouted as both she and Emily clamped a hand over his mouth. Soon enough they arrived at their destination. Everyone but Peter signed up for a time during kareoke. Sirius and James were first, and sang the song "Chicks dig it" by umm...some country dude (A/N: I mostly like rock, but on my school bus the driver puts it on country, cuz most the people around here are hicks and like country.) Raven was next singing "Tourniquet" by Evanescence. After that Emily sang "...But Home Is Nowhere" by AFI, then Remus sang "Crawling" by Linkin Park. Then Lily and Cas sang "Dancing Through Sunday" by AFI. Last of all, Sirius and James returned to sing "Right Now" by Korn.  
  
Afterwards they headed out into London to find a good nightclub. They stayed out so late they crashed at the Leaky Cauldron for the night, all sharing one room. They pushed the two beds next to each other in one corner, and all slept piled together as they sometimes did, though Peter got pushed off soon after falling asleep, as he always did.  
  
Around two am they were woken by screams from the street below. Looking drowsily out over Diagon Alley, they quickly found the source. The alley was under attack. There were a few dozen robed figures at the end of the street. Wasting no time they gathered up whatever was theirs and crept downstairs. There were two black robed figures, their backs to the staircase. Thinking fast, they cast stunning spells then dashed across the room and out into muggle London, not stopping until they were several blocks away. They quickly found a cab and piled in, heading straight for Potter Manor. They ran across the grounds and then inside, slamming the door behind them as James activated the locking charms. They stood in the hall for a minute, leaning against the walls and each other, catching their breath.  
  
"James! Is something wrong? We thought you were staying at the Leaky Cauldron." Mrs. Potter said as she came into view, her and Mr. Potter having come to investigate the intrusion.  
  
"There was an attack...People screaming, the whole street on fire. We ran into London and caught the first cab we found."  
  
"Oh my. Are you all okay?" Mrs. Potter gasped. There was murmured consent from the eight exhausted teens before James' parents sent them off to bed. They repeated what they had done earlier, pushing Sirius', Remus', and Raven's beds together in one of the corners, two beds next to each other and a third at the foot of the other two.  
  
For some reason the closeness always made them feel better. It could have to do with the fact that several of their animagus forms were pack animals, or the fact that they did this every full moon in the Shrieking Shack. Emily was in the corner against the wall, Sirius next to her and holding onto Raven on his other side, lying diagonal across the first mattress. Lily and James lay in each other's arms on the second mattress, as did Remus and Cas on the mattress at the foot of the other two. Peter had once more fallen off.  
  
No matter what any of them said, they were all scared senseless by the encounter. Attacks were becoming more and more common, but they had never been so close to becoming victims. They knew it was only a matter of time before they encountered a full on attack. At least they still had the safety of Hogwarts to return to.  
  
They all woke up at about the same time, a tangle of sheets, blankets, and limbs. They struggled free, laughing, and once more dumping a bucket of water on Peter, then ran into the sitting room, locking him out. They collapsed on the floor laughing, the terror of last night nearly forgotten. Sirius began laughing at Raven, who had a bruise on her face from fighting in a club. It was almost impossible for Raven to not get into a fight in public at least once a week.  
  
"We gonna let him in yet?" Emily asked.  
  
"Sure, it's getting old now." James said.  
  
"Getting old? You do this at least once a week." Lily teased.  
  
"But it's a lot better when we lock Sirius out." Cas said Sirius pouted.  
  
"That wasn't funny!" he protested.  
  
"Yes it was" Raven said.  
  
"Was not." He moped  
  
"Was too." Raven argued.  
  
"Was not."  
  
"Was too."  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Was too!"  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Was too!" Lily smacked their heads together to stop them from going on forever. Once when they were bored during school, Raven and Sirius had argued for two hours and thirty-seven minutes. No one could even remember what they had been arguing about.  
  
Most of the day was spent either arguing or playing minor pranks. As the next school year loomed ever closer, they began planning their welcome feast prank. Today they just brainstormed ideas, and fought a lot. 


End file.
